Pulse of the Pac

Research conducted by USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles scientists released this week — indicating a correlation between autism and exposure to air pollution during pregnancy — demonstrates how dirty air is not just an eyesore, but a veritable public health risk. In light of these findings, USC students should do all they can to reduce pollution in Los Angeles, in the interest of our personal and community health.

The need for urgent action on air pollution stems from general uncertainty about just how dangerous pollution could be for our bodies. The USC-CHLA study is just one example of how the health impact of pollution is more expansive than scientists once thought.

-Francesca Bessey, Dec. 4 issue

The Daily Utah ChronicleUniversity of Utah

“ADHD ‘study drugs’ affect academic ethics”

This semester — as is increasingly and perniciously the case — more students are choosing to give up their cup of joe and energy drinks to get their fix from something seeming to be a bit more effective and long-lasting: Adderall.

Adderall is prescribed to people who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Across the nation, however, college students are buying, selling and using the little pill illegally in exchange for an edge with their studies.

A pill that helps you to study harder, focus longer and accomplish work you otherwise would not be able to accomplish — miraculous, no? So why wouldn’t one take this miracle drug to enhance his or her studies?

The truth is, Adderall usage is indicative of a larger problem. We live in a nation where the problem for almost anything can be solved with a small capsule. It’s a dangerous drug culture, which ultimately seems to be causing more harm than good in the long run.

-Alysha Nemeschy, Jan. 11 issue

The State PressArizona State University

“Arizona’s future gubernatorial candidates need to impress students”

Elections were once won by pandering to these older groups with law-and-order style rhetoric and a fierce defense of conservative values.

Such rhetoric can often be alienating for minority groups and certainly will not win over the college-aged students who tend to be more liberal. Even younger conservatives eschew the more hardline stances against immigration or other hot-button wedge issues we inevitably hear about during each election cycle.

The way for these recognized political figures to truly engage the students of Arizona lies in ditching the tired partisanship and embracing the future electorate.

This is not to say that politicians ought to pander to college students. Voter participation by 18-to 29-year-olds tends to be low — even in 2008 when many segments of the electorate were energized by President Barack Obama’s candidacy, only 50 percent of younger voters turned out.

Pandering is not an effective method of convincing college students to vote. Instead, our officials should focus on implementing policies that will both benefit current students as well as attract new students to Arizona universities.

Many of us have had to defend our state from its less than stellar reputation. Arizona carries a connotation of crazy.